Osaka Sushi & Grill — Restaurant in High Ridge Township

When Osaka first opened in House Springs a few years back , I was a regular customer. The restaurant was nicely decorated, the vibe was good. Most importantly the Sushi was really good. I ‘ve been lucky enough to eat Sushi in Hawaii, Japan, Los Angeles and even in Alaska. I was really excited that the Sushi was vibrant and fresh tasting. Around a year in I noticed the servers were very young and inexperienced. Noticed a very rapid turnover. One server actually started arguing with me with a very surly tone. The next year the food remained high quality, but the service continued to suffer. Eventually their very young boy that I assumed was the owners son began taking take out orders. Nice kid I’m sure but he was wholly incompetent and not especially friendly. When Covid hit I stopped eating at restaurants, including Osaka. Yesterday I stopped in to place a takeout order. They have closed up the dining room and only do take out now. The original ambiance of the restaurant is completely gone. Tables and chairs stacked up to the side of a very dark main room. All decorations gone except a not very attractive fish tank. I ordered a Bento Box. The steak was a cheap cut of meat that had very little flavor. The sushi was very poor quality. Everything in the Bento Box was flavorless. The best tasting item in the Box was the cream cheese inside the Crab Rangoon! Everything but the sushi seemed rubbery , not crisp. Probably microwaved. It was sad. There was a depressing air about the restaurant. Not sure if Covid or their employees drug them down. I tried to make small talk with the owner while waiting for my order. She was not friendly at all. Her husband who made the Sushi smiled at me while he handed me my order. But the smile was forced. I was extremely disappointed and I won’t...

First off I just wanted to start by saying I have a lot of inland sushi. Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri to just give you an idea of a few places. The restaurant itself is great. It is very small and that is how I like my sushi places. The dining area was very clean and orderly. The sushi bar was 4 seats wide and the artwork behind the counter is really neat. The menu was a great mix of hibachi food as well as fried and raw. the sushi selection, unfortunately, was very small. Sushi portions were great, but the only raw selection was tuna and salmon. I love yellow tail and I understand with being in a small town, they may not move as much fish and that is a good idea to keep selection small. The Crab meat was kind of a let down since it was imitation meat. All in all, the place was great, but the food was kind of a let down if compared with other restaurants. There is no alcohol at the time of this post, as well, so would reconsider going back if that changes. The staff was great too, very knowledgeable of the food and my drink never got low. But if you are looking for a quick "to-go" option, local grocery stores normally have a chef that makes sushi rolls, or sashimi to order and are cheaper with the same fish the sushi restaurants receive.

TLDR; Food was okay, no alcohol. Staff was great, restaurant was very...

Magnificent. First time there today. My wife got Hibachi Beef and Shrimp with fried rice and salad. I got Teryaki Beef and Shrimp with steamed rice and miso soup. Both were wonderful. Didn't get a chance to try sushi/shashimi yet, but nice large selection with sushi chef right there in the intimate dining room. Prices were good. Really, this is the classiest restaurant in House Springs and will dine there as often as I can. I said to my wife afterwards "I'm not brushing my teeth because I want the taste from what I ate there to live forever."

The ONLY downside (which is acceptable) is that it closes for about 1.5 hours in the afternoon (from 2:30 to 4:00 PM on the Sunday we went). We almost didn't go because we got there at 3:15 PM. We decided to shop at nearby Buchheits in the interim and went in the restaurant at 4 PM with 2 other waiting couples.

Again, a wonderful place and I hope it does well there because, as an ex-patriat New Yorker for whom Asian is a food group, Osaka Sushi & Grill is a...